In 1930, the New York Times would call the results of the Capital Campaign “Rochester’s New Glory.” The Campaign led to the construction of Rush Rhees LibraryBausch and Lomb HallDewey HallMorey HallLattimore HallGavett HallStrong AuditoriumTodd UnionAlumni Gymnasium,Fauver Stadiumand the Burton and Crosby residence halls
The Campaign was pivotal in helping fund construction of the School of Medicine and Dentistry;
led to the creation in 1929 of our Institute of Optics;
The University’s endowment grew to $16.5 million by 1930, making it the sixth largest in the country. With expanded resources, The Campaign transformed our faculty.
The School of Medicine and Dentistry earlier had hired George Hoyt Whipple, later a Nobel laureate, to be the founding Dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry.
Whipple recruited from Johns Hopkins and other leading schools of medicine so effectively that when the School of Medicine opened in 1925, it had 65 faculty.How did our predecessors do this? There was first an inspiring vision.
In all there were 13,733 contributors, including support from 68.5 percent of living graduates. Underlying this success was a volunteer leadership that included 668 individuals, organized into 4 core divisions, 10 districts, and 50 teams.
The Campaign of 1924 was characterized as “the greatest community project ever undertaken in behalf of higher education.” Along with earlier support for the Eastman School of Music, the Campaign of 1924 created the modern University of Rochester.
with critical new facilities such as the recently completed Goergen Hall for Biomedical Engineering and Optics.
This level of support already has made it possible for us to create 34 new endowed professorships and deanships, with several more on the way. Our faculty are our most valuable resource--our crown jewels. Endowed professorships and development support are pivotal in attracting and retaining the faculty that make the University of Rochester one of the nation’s great research universities.
Doug Lowry last week was named the Joan and Martin Messinger Dean of the Eastman School of Music. Doug has led Eastman into the 21st century with his leadership of the Eastman Theatre renovation and an ambitious strategic plan, Empowering the Eastman Advantage, that celebrates Eastman’s musical legacy and Eastman’s role as a leader in the future of music.
A student body that has grown from 8,450 total students in Fall 2004 to 10,000 students, while strengthening quality and diversity.
Handler Scholar Alejandro López-Samamé ’12E (Alejandro Low-pez Sa-MA-may), who arrived at the Eastman School from his hometown of Lima, Peru and has already achieved success by appearing as first trumpeter with the National Opera of Peru.
We have built the foundation for a comprehensive capital campaign. In four years, the George Eastman Circle, our University annual giving society, has grown to 1686 members, each of whom has made a five-year pledge that has helped us double our Annual Fund in five years.
Our public announcement will be in October. We anticipate the largest Meliora Weekend in our history and invite each of you to join us for the public launch of our Campaign.